All The Birds is an incremental management game about creating an Australian bird reserve and attracting more species to live there. There is no traditional story campaign or fixed protagonist. The player begins with a small natural area and gradually develops it by taking photographs of visiting birds. Photos function as the main resource, allowing new habitats, facilities, and upgrades to be purchased as the reserve becomes larger and more active.

Photographing New Visitors

Birds arrive when suitable habitats are available. When one lands in the reserve, the player can click it to take a photograph and earn more resources. Different environmental features attract different visitors, so expanding the reserve also increases the variety of birds that can appear. Species include Australian birds such as crested pigeons, laughing kookaburras, and ibis.

Expanding the Reserve

Photos earned from birdwatching can be reinvested into the environment. The main activities include:

•         photographing birds when they arrive;
•         placing plants around the reserve;
•         adding ponds and other water features;
•         building feeders and nest boxes;
•         creating paths and park facilities;
•         hiring birders to take photos automatically;
•         purchasing upgrades that increase photo value.

Grouping suitable habitat features together can help attract additional birds and make the reserve more productive.

Automation becomes more important as progress continues. Birders can be hired to walk around the reserve and photograph birds without direct player input. Each birder has different behavior, while camera and birder upgrades increase how many valuable photographs can be generated. This gradually changes the game from constant manual clicking into a larger management system where upgrades continue producing resources while the player works on other parts of the reserve.

Completing the Bird List

There are no traditional numbered levels or combat challenges. Progress is measured through reserve expansion, upgrades, and the number of bird species discovered. Players can work toward completing the Bird List and receive reviews from a local birding magazine as more species are recorded. All The Birds is mainly about building habitats, watching new birds arrive, photographing them, improving equipment, and using the resulting resources to create a reserve capable of attracting increasingly varied wildlife.